1.Tony Hale and His Wife Have Emmys, But.... If Tony Hale bags a second Supporting Actor prize for playing Veep's presidential bagman Gary Walsh, he’ll have earned one more Emmy than his wife, makeup artist Martel Thompson. She won for All My Children in 2003. (Both statues currently reside in their kitchen.)

2.NBC Still Leaves Other Networks in the Dust. Rag all you want on NBC’s current lack of good laughers: The net is still the champ when it comes to Best Comedy Series Awards (26 in total). CBS (which has no nominees in the category this year) would have to score five more awards in a row to beat the rival net—six, if NBC wins for Parks and Recreation this year.

3. Mark Rylance Could Prove Winning Streaks Are Real. He may not be a household name (yet), but British theater great Mark Rylance (nominated for Best Actor in a Limited Series) has scored a Tony Award every year that he was nominated. The only time he lost a category was in 2014; he won for Best Featured Actor in Twelfth Night, but not for Best Leading Actor in Richard III. So if he wins this year, it could bode well for his first Emmy nod (and every one after that).

4. Middle America Has a Chance to (Finally) Shine. If Parks and Recreation earns the top sitcom award, it will be the first winning comedy since 1988 that is set in Middle America. Well, sort of: The Wonder Years never mentioned being set in a particular city or state, but it was filmed in recognizable Burbank, California. In truth, you’d have to go back over three decades to find a winning comedy set in the plain states.

5.A Spin-Off Might Claim Gold for the First Time in 35 Years. Better Call Saul for the win! If the AMC series earns Best Drama in 2015, it will be the first spin-off to snag the award since Lou Grant 35 years ago.

6.An Original and Spin-Off Series Might Both Win for the First Time. Plus: Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul will have the honor of being the first mothership and spin-off series to win the tip-top drama award back-to-back.

7.Three Nominees Have Appeared on the Same Show. Between William H. Macy, Jeffrey Tambor and Don Cheadle, there is a 42.86 % chance the winner of Best Actor in a Comedy Series will have appeared on L.A. Law.

8.Bald Actors Are Shining in the Spotlight. Likewise, between Andre Braugher, Keegan-Michael Key, Tony Hale and Titus Burgess, there is a 66.67% chance the winner of Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series will be bald. Larry David must be very proud. — additional reporting by Jason Clark

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